365 Days in Every Day: A Chronicle of Love, Loss, and Unwavering Faith

Yesterday, I was transported into the stirring narrative of "American Symphony," the raw, real-life saga of Jon Batiste, a luminary musician, and his wife's courageous battle with leukemia. This film didn't just echo their struggle; it resonated with the myriad struggles woven into the lives of countless individuals around us. It rewound the clock to 2019 when my world shattered upon learning my wife had a mere month left to live. Miraculously, God granted her nearly 14 additional months.

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Each passing day within those months felt like an entire year—a year brimming with urgency, a year where every precious moment had to be seized, celebrated, endured, and cherished. And when the inevitable end of this extended chapter arrived, it enveloped my daughters and me in a shroud of melancholy. We yearned to banish the encroaching darkness and preserve the eternal daylight of our shared moments.

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Sitting vigilantly by her hospital bed, I witnessed her battling through chemotherapy as if it were a venomous elixir, uncertain of its life-or-death verdict. I can still feel the weight of those moments—strolling through the sterile corridors adorned with a network of tubes tethered to her frail body. Amidst it all, she urged me to keep our work afloat, striving to support our team and ensure our dream house reached completion on schedule, all while knowing, deep within, she might never step foot inside it.

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For those combating cancer, the battlefield offers two stark choices: victory and survival or defeat and peaceful departure. However, the collateral damage is borne by those who stand by their side—the unsung heroes thrust into a harrowing game of Cancer Poker. They wear smiles for the world while enduring betrayals from those expected to bolster them, finding unexpected support from the unlikeliest corners. They shoulder pain akin to a Templar Knight who took the oath of dignity while he is surrounded by the Holiness of Prostitution.

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Many ask about life during Yolla's treatment. What you've just glimpsed is a fraction of that journey. Yet, the tapestry of Jon Batiste and Suleika's life, vividly unfurled in the Netflix Documentary, offers a profound testament to how LOVE, Determination, and Faith have the power to shatter every barrier in their path, illuminating the indomitable spirit within us all.

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May their story serve as a beacon, resonating in the hearts of those weathering storms, a testament to the resilience that love, unwavering determination, and boundless faith instill in the human spirit and may the infinite number of days within those merely 14 months last till eternity in the memories of my Mia & Ella.